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Civil rights museum coin would be money in the bank

This week's newspaper column.

If President Barack Obama comes to Greensboro next February for the opening of the downtown International Civil Rights Center and Museum, it would be a crowning achievement for the project, which has at times struggled mightily to keep hope alive over the years.

But as Eddie Bridges sees it, why stop there?

Bridges, 76, whose main claim to local fame is as an outdoorsman and wildlife advocate, has hatched an idea that he believes would raise operating funds for the museum and honor the four A&T students who staged the historic sit-ins at the old Woolworth five-and-dime.

And it wouldn’t cost taxpayers one penny.

Bridges got to thinking a few months ago that a commemorative 50-cent coin would pay appropriate homage to both the museum and the wave of sit-ins inspired by David Richmond, Franklin McCain, Joseph McNeil and Ezell Blair Jr. (now known as Jibreel Khazan) when they took seats at the store’s segregated lunch counter and politely demanded to be served.

The coins would cost the government no more than it already costs to mint any 50-cent piece. But Bridges sees it quickly becoming a keepsake and a collector’s item whose value would escalate over time.

The museum could buy coins in bulk and resell them. The revenues could fund an endowment that would help cover operating expenses. “There would be people to buy those coins just because they want to help,” he said.

He even has a design in mind: Heads, the four A&T students; tails, the facade of the museum building.

The coins should have national appeal, Bridges said, because they would honor not just Greensboro but the 50th anniversary of the Feb. 1, 1960, event, which sparked a national movement and whose influence was felt well beyond the city, and the state.

As Bridges sees it, there is no downside to his idea: no controversy, no exorbitant cost, no political trap doors.

“If you can give me a good reason why this wouldn’t work,” he said, “I want you to tell me about it.”

Before we go any further, there are some things you need to know about Eddie. Foremost, he is no idle dreamer.

He conceived the idea and convinced the state to successfully launch the North Carolina Wildlife Endowment Fund through the selling of lifetime hunting and fishing licenses. Thus far, the fund has generated more than $125 million to help fund the state Wildlife Resources Commission.

Bridges also is founder and executive director of the N.C. Wildlife Habitat Foundation, which acquires and preserves open spaces for wildlife in the state and supports conservation education. Thus far it has raised more than $2 million.

As an alumnus and former football player at what is now Elon University, he has created two scholarships for his alma mater, one that honors the former Major League Baseball manager Jack McKeon, and has spearheaded efforts to raise seed money for each.

That’s hardly all Eddie’s been up to, but you get the idea.

As for his latest notion, Eddie met with U.S. Rep. Howard Coble, a Republican, last week and was pleased with the outcome. “I felt he was very receptive,” Bridges said. “I told him we might even get (House Republican Leader) John Boehner to vote for the coin.”

Coble, who knows Bridges well, but has dealt with him previously on wildlife issues, pretty much echoed Eddie’s mantra: He couldn’t see any good reason why it shouldn’t work. “We didn’t go into great detail,” Coble said, “but on the surface it seems like a win-win.

“I’ve always thought the museum should be funded by voluntary contributions. And for the most part it has been.”

As Coble sees it, a commemorative coin is merely another way to achieve that.

Fellow U.S. Rep. Brad Miller, a Democrat in whose district the museum sits, agrees. “I have never tried to get a commemorative coin through,” he said, “but the (museum and the sit-in anniversary) are something we should celebrate.”

Sen. Kay Hagan, also a Democrat, has gone a step further, confirming in a written statement that she plans to introduce a bill for the coin as soon as this week and “will be working with my colleagues to get it to the president.”

And the moral of the story as Bridges sees it, is you never know when a door might open if you don’t knock. And he’ll keep right on knocking.

“Look,” he said, “I just turned 76 and I don’t need glasses and don’t use a walker.

“This is just one more thing I’d like to see accomplished before my time runs out.”